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MAINTENANCE OF GENETIC VARIATION IN HUMAN PERSONALITY: TESTING EVOLUTIONARY MODELS BY ESTIMATING HERITABILITY DUE TO COMMON CAUSAL VARIANTS AND INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF DISTANT INBREEDING
Author(s) -
Verweij Karin J.H.,
Yang Jian,
Lahti Jari,
Veijola Juha,
Hintsanen Mirka,
PulkkiRåback Laura,
Hein Kati,
Pouta Anneli,
Pesonen AnuKatriina,
Widen Elisabeth,
Taanila Anja,
Isohanni Matti,
Miettunen Jouko,
Palotie Aarno,
Penke Lars,
Service Susan K.,
Heath Andrew C.,
Montgomery Grant W.,
Raitakari Olli,
Kähönen Mika,
Viikari Jorma,
Räikkönen Katri,
Eriksson Johan G,
KeltikangasJärvinen Liisa,
Lehtimäki Terho,
Martin Nicholas G.,
Järvelin MarjoRiitta,
Visscher Peter M.,
Keller Matthew C.,
Zietsch Brendan P.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01679.x
Subject(s) - biology , genetic variation , heritability , personality , inbreeding , evolutionary biology , genetics , trait , epistasis , inbreeding depression , big five personality traits , human evolutionary genetics , population , genome , psychology , social psychology , demography , sociology , gene , computer science , programming language
Personality traits are basic dimensions of behavioral variation, and twin, family, and adoption studies show that around 30% of the between‐individual variation is due to genetic variation. There is rapidly growing interest in understanding the evolutionary basis of this genetic variation. Several evolutionary mechanisms could explain how genetic variation is maintained in traits, and each of these makes predictions in terms of the relative contribution of rare and common genetic variants to personality variation, the magnitude of nonadditive genetic influences, and whether personality is affected by inbreeding. Using genome‐wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from > 8000 individuals, we estimated that little variation in the Cloninger personality dimensions (7.2% on average) is due to the combined effect of common, additive genetic variants across the genome, suggesting that most heritable variation in personality is due to rare variant effects and/or a combination of dominance and epistasis. Furthermore, higher levels of inbreeding were associated with less socially desirable personality trait levels in three of the four personality dimensions. These findings are consistent with genetic variation in personality traits having been maintained by mutation–selection balance.